10,000 Watch Surfers Make Waves Behave

More than 10,000 people, many of them lining the San Clemente Pier, watched top-ranked surfers pull off “floaters,” “360s” and other wave maneuvers Sunday during the Pontiac Classic.

The four-day second annual competition attracted contestants from as far away as Hawaii and Australia, who competed in 2-to-4-foot surf, said Bill Sullivan, a spokesman for the U.S. Pro Tour, which coordinated the meet.

More than 160 professional surfers sought the top prize of $4,000, which was won by Dino Andino, 21, of San Clemente.

For spectators, the prize was spending the long warm day in the sun as world-class surfers put on their show. Some bought food at nearby fast-food restaurants, while others brought picnic lunches to spread on the beach.

Although vocal, this year’s crowd was described by police as very well mannered--a tribute, in part, to the meet’s organizers and police.

“We had no arrests and no problems,” Police Sgt. James R. Thomas said. “This was one of the best crowds I’ve seen for any event we’ve ever had in San Clemente.”

Keeping a surf contest low key has become a tricky proposition in California, Sullivan said.

“The whole idea is to keep things low key and avoid the sophistication, in keeping with the sport,” he said.

For the most part, the event fit in with the “good time” ambiance that major sponsors like Pontiac and others seek, Sullivan said.

Surf tricks performed at the contest will be borrowed by today’s young surfers and become tomorrow’s hot new styles. During the meet, the loudest cheers erupted for the most radical maneuvers.

In one heat, Andino pulled off a “floater,” where he whipped his board toward the breaking wave and bounced off the lip or top of the wave as it broke and cascaded down.

“You are touching the water, but the water is moving and you’re falling 5 to 10 feet,” Sullivan said.

(Waves are measured from the back but can have a face twice their measurement. Also, the surfboard travels not only down the wave but also toward shore, adding descent.)

Meanwhile, on shore, Andino’s wave act didn’t go unnoticed.

“Dino is one of our friends,” said Anthony Cappa, 21, of San Clemente, who was with a group of friends who cheered and hooted from the beach during Andino’s heat.

“He pulled off several floaters today. He’s hot. We’ve known Dino since he was a little kid. We went to junior high and high school together,” Cappa said.

In another heat, Mike Lambresi of Oceanside won the admiration of the crowd, Sullivan said, when he maneuvered his board down a breaking wave, then whipped the board into a full circle, “pulling off a nice 360.”

Organizers said they had just one hitch this year, which occurred when a conflicting event sponsored by the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce--the annual street fair on Avenida del Mar--forced them to delay Saturday’s heats from 7 a.m. to noon.

“But that worked out for us,” Sullivan said. “Instead of starting the heat at 7 a.m. with nobody around, we had an audience at noon: Thousands of people who been waiting got to hear our (traditional) bullhorn signaling the start of the heat.”

Not everyone went away a winner.

Pocho Ahina, 22, of Oahu, Hawaii, a top-ranked amateur surfer who made his professional surfing debut, made it through just seven heats before he lost and finished competition Saturday.

He arrived in the county July 12. Since then, he has been living at the San Clemente home of one of his surfing sponsors.

Undaunted, Ahina plans to stay on the California tour.

“I gotta keep trying. It’s going to happen,” Ahina said.

Contest results in Sports, Page 16.